mekka okereke :verified:
Nope. I don't believe this for one second.
They started dating in 2018. I was telling you *exactly* who this dude was since before 2016.
She saw what she wanted to see.
A lot of y'all did.
If we could see it from way over here, she could definitely see it from inside a relationship with him.
https://futurism.com/the-byte/grimes-elon-musk-unrecognizable
Elon was dog whistling his political views as early as 2014. So no, Grimes' "I didn't see it! He's changed!" is rejected.
mekka okereke :verified:
If someone keeps saying "May the force be with you!" And "These aren't the droids you're looking for!" You know what they're reading and watching.
If they say "Live long and prosper!" and "To boldly go..." you know they're a fan of something else.
It was obvious what Elon was reading/listening to.
This is who he has been. He didn't change.
2/2
Thomas Depierre
@mekkaokereke it was already visible in the old piece from his first wife. None of this is new.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
I do wish people I had conversations about him years ago, who defended him as if he was some poor misunderstood bullied bespectacled kid, would at least say "you were right back then."
Dodo III.
@cygnathreadbare ask his own queer daughter how progressive he is. @mekkaokereke
Marta Threadbare
@mekkaokereke I think I remember reading a transphobic quote from him around 2014 too? not sure if it was an interview or a reddit post, but he said something along the lines of "hey we are so diverse we even have a dude who believes he is a woman and we still respect him", trying to sound progressive but insisting in misgendering that person. But trying to find the source for that with all the intently transphobic shit he says today is like doing archeology...
mekka okereke :verified:
How do y'all think so many Black people called *exactly* what his true feelings were?
https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/113526319813715824
We are not magic. We just... don't lie to ourselves as much about dudes like Musk. The signs were there. Many of y'all chose to ignored them.
PixelRobot
@cygnathreadbare @mekkaokereke I don't think he would post this today, and it's only from 2022: https://fortune.com/2022/06/02/elon-musk-tesla-lgbtq-hrc-corporate-equality-index-personal-choices
This one is from the same month: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61880709
He's always been bad, but he used to pretend do be a liberal. He even called himself a "socialist" once. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-twitter-deal-politics-b2345301.html
He's always been shit, but things have been shifting, at least in the image he projects.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
@juergen_hubert @mekkaokereke there is a lot of blame here to be put squarely at media's feet, sadly.
One stark example: CEO of Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, interviewed Musk in 2022. And the sycophantic soft-balls that he was asking him are just unbelievable:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240818142646/https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-interview-axel-springer-tesla-war-in-ukraine-2022-3
> With knowledge, products and services, Elon Musk is almost a strategic weapon in modern warfare.
> You have solved so many problems of mankind and presented so many solutions.
I mean… 🙄
Jürgen Hubert
@rysiek @mekkaokereke I do know some Tesla owners who are having buyer's remorse. But there are still _lots_ of people out there who think him a genius who will somehow "save the world".
mekka okereke :verified:
🤦🏿♂️ A large part of my online experience, is me saying well in advance that a certain person is fashy trash, and well meaning white people saying things like, "Well you don't know that!" And "Maybe we should free Melania!" Etc etc.
Then me posting stuff like this:
https://mixmag.net/read/grimes-proud-white-culture-called-nazi-white-supremacist-news
Then the white folk who were trying to free Melania going silent. I never get a "OK, you were right!"
(H/t Dawn Xiana Moon for reminding me of this).
PixelRobot
@mekkaokereke @cygnathreadbare Oh, I've known for a long time. I just think you can't just blame other people. He's also guilty of very deliberately manipulating people.
mekka okereke :verified:
She wasn't manipulated. She had agency in her decisions. People who bought Teslas in 2018 knew exactly what so many Black people thought about Musk.
They lied to themselves, and asked ridiculous questions, like "Why do you hate Musk? He's just trying to save the world!" They asked, but they didn't really want to hear any answers. "Why do you hate Musk?" Was really just "Shut up and stop complaining! You're making me feel bad about buying my Tesla!"
L'égrégore André ꕭꕬ
@mekkaokereke 2018 is also the year of the cave rescue, when dude was so upset no one (outside his socmedia following) thought his "we'll build a magic sub" plan was the best thing ever so he called the guy actually getting the kids out a pedophile.
Even if she hadn't seen any of the other stuff she can't have missed that.
mekka okereke :verified:
No.
Burning man is full of tech people on every drug known to man. It's not full of fascists.
Drugs don't make you fashy. Fashy people do drugs. Because in America, lots of white folk do drugs*.
He didn't change. This is who he's been. The mask just slipped more.
(*Except Utah. Seriously! They're pulling down the white drug use prevalence average.)
Orlaya
His eyes look like he's on some kind of chemicals. This could explain some personality changes.
mekka okereke :verified:
No, her view wasn't manipulated. She had full agency. She was liking nazi memes before they were dating. It's more likely that they started dating in part because of their shared love of "white culture."
https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/113526616645925407
And who is "we" in this forgiveness you speak of? And what makes you think she's learned anything? I forgive people that make amends. But white folk are often quick to forgive other fashy white folk on Black folks' behalf. No. I haven't seen her undo any harm.
rsalz
@mekkaokereke Perhaps her view was limited because of her feelings for him. I thought we always welcomed those who learned.
mekka okereke :verified:
All good!
There are people that were very racist earlier in their lives, either through just not knowing better, or by knowing better but choosing a wrong, hurtful path, that now genuinely regret their previous ways. They're truly remorseful, and want to make amends.♥️👍🏿
Those people, I forgive wholeheartedly! And I don't require them to list their previous sins! I'm not a priest and I can't grant absolution. But for folks that want to do better going forward, people are here to help.
rsalz
@mekkaokereke I also learned a second lesson. Do not toss off a clip and expect to score points against you. You know your facts and are prepared to argue your points effectively. I am sorry and my mistake
6H057rUNN3r
@mekkaokereke I remember reading articles from that time that made it clear grimes' mom knew who he was and was against her relationship with him. No way she can claim she didn't know.
mekka okereke :verified:
Most of the *people* in tech are progressive.
But most of the *money* in tech, is libertarian/fashy.
🙂🙃
Yes, a lot of that fashy money goes to burning man.
But also, the queer white SRE from Portland with a John Brown calf tattoo, goes to burning man too.
Stanley Black-Decker
I agree with your main point that he hasn't changed
However, "BM is full of tech people ... not fascists" doesn't seem to parse
The tech industry is more defined by its right-wingers than it is by progressives. Management tells it differently, but pretending to be the victim is a feature of authoritarian cultures.
So if it's full of tech people (like Elon) that's the same as saying it's full of fascists and fash-adjacent/fash-apologist/etc (like Elon)
Alon
@mekkaokereke I want to be a hipster and say I was in the hatedom starting 2013, but it was specific to Hyperloop and then the Boring Company and I don't expect everyone to be enough of a public transport nerd to have known how he was blowing smoke even back then.
mekka okereke :verified:
No.
She was liking nazi memes and talking about "I'm not a nazi, I'm just proud of white culture." And in 2018, Elon was already making baseless pedo accusations, getting sued by his Black employees for egregious racism, and telling them to have thicker skin.
https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/113526616645925407
Her being naive has nothing to do with it. Elon did not change up on her. She shared some of his abhorrent views and cruel humor. She knew who he was. She just liked it then, pre-face leopard.
Piko Starsider :verified_paw:
@mekkaokereke I'm inclined to believe it because I think she is *THAT* naive. I still remember her tiktok about communism, displaying her ignorance and naiveté.
mekka okereke :verified:
*Thinks more about it*
🤔 You know what? You're right!
Stanley Black-Decker
@mekkaokereke @Orlaya I'm not saying there aren't any progressives, I'm saying "tech people not fascists" is a logical construction that assumes fashy tech people are the exception, when they're actually closer to the norm (especially at Burning Man, like you say)
Brandon Haber
@Alon @mekkaokereke Open secret in the space biz by 2010 or so as the early waves of SpaceX people cashed out, worked elsewhere, and told stories.
Nalyd620
@mekkaokereke I always thought Grimes was a little bit out there. The both of them seem like they live on another planet.
mekka okereke :verified:
Out there is one thing. Out there is not bad.
This is a different thing.
Dave "Wear A Goddamn Mask" Cochran :donor:
@mekkaokereke the problem, to quote (i think?) "bojack horseman", with wearing rose-colored glasses is that all the red flags just look like flags.
mekka okereke :verified:
I get it. But I'm asking you to trust me on this one:
There is a huge difference between
A) I am uninformed
B) I am informed, but choose to support explicitly white nationalist viewpoints
I've helped *hundreds of thousands* of people become less racist. Lots of them thank me. ♥️ But I've never made anyone less racist. I don't have that power. I helped them *make themselves* less racist, by providing info. If someone is in "A)" this is all that's needed.
Piko Starsider :verified_paw:
@mekkaokereke I see. I didn't know about that one. That changes things. But her saying "What if humans just loved each other?" makes me kinda think she doesn't really know anything about the world. Like incredible levels of sheltering.
Is she lying? Maybe, probably. But I think that we can't deny she's really dumb.
I was very ignorant of the world a long time ago, even though I have had internet for years for some reason I avoided places that could teach me more about the world. This was before algorithmic content, so I don't know how it changes the equation in her case. I think that for someone that has experienced racism it may difficult to imagine how someone can not understand the concept of racism beyond the most superficial definition without being racist themselves. I believe it can be possible in this case, but who knows, rich people tend to be dishonest, so I'm more inclined towards your explanation now.
mekka okereke :verified:
And the "Couldn't people just love each other?" are nonsense sound good, mean nothing, words that racists often cost their message in.
File next to "All lives matter."
Fifi Lamoura
@rysiek The continual attempts to pass off sociopathy and clinical narcissism as autism are an intensely annoying form of excuse making for terrible men. They do this with school shooters. It's similar to how rich White boys and athletes who are rapists get excused made for them. Plenty of people are on the spectrum without being clinical narcissists or sociopaths (which is also why promoting this idea is also harmful to people on the spectrum, as is the "autistic people are superior" belief....different isn't better or worse, it's just different!) @mekkaokereke
Michael Busch
I recall how Elon Musk was apparently so horrific a bully as a teenager that when one of his targets shoved him down a flight of stairs in response; even Musk's father admitted that it was justified.
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
poor
misunderstood
bullied
bespectacled
which part do you not understand
:ablobwink:
Dale Hagglund
@mekkaokereke @starsider I was only vaguely aware of Musk until the whole episode of his attempt at being the hero of the cave rescue in Thailand.
Up until then, I'd recognized him as an arrogant blowhard, a type I have damned little respect for at the best of times, but baseless pedo accusations because his pet idea was dismissed by actual experts (because it was useless, and obviously so) certainly made his deeply fragile completely clear.
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